


Beneath The Winter Moon

by IBoatedHere



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bitty Gets Stood Up, Fluff, Ice Skating, Ice rink, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBoatedHere/pseuds/IBoatedHere
Summary: Bitty has checked his phone every two minutes for the past hour and the only thing that ever changes on it is the time.There’s never a new text or a missed call that he didn’t hear over the sound joyful sounds of kids and adults laughing and singing as they skate around the ice.The minutes tick by, there’s no stopping them. There’s no stopping the feeling in the pit of his stomach either.He got stood up. There’s no way around it.





	

Bitty has checked his phone every two minutes for the past hour and the only thing that ever changes on it is the time.

There’s never a new text or a missed call that he didn’t hear over the sound joyful sounds of kids and adults laughing and singing as they skate around the ice.

The minutes tick by, there’s no stopping them. There’s no stopping the feeling in the pit of his stomach either.

He got stood up. There’s no way around it.

He’s not naive enough to start thinking that there was some kind of emergency (car trouble, sick grandma, couldn’t find his wallet) that’s keeping Trevor from making it on time.

He simply changed his mind.

He didn’t want to come and so he didn’t.

It’s the coward’s way out. He should have been honest or, at the very least, sent Bitty a flimsy excuse. At least that way Bitty wouldn’t be sitting here alone in the cold watching couples hold hands as they skate shaky circles around the rink.

A flat out rejection when he first started talking to Trevor would have hurt less than this.

With a sigh he pushes himself up from the table and picks up his ice skates. He had been using them to save the seat next to him and he suddenly feels extra pathetic.

 _I brought my own skates_ , he thinks, _and I’m leaving without even using them_.

He had been so excited when Trevor mentioned skating. Bitty had gushed about how he used to compete when he was younger and won medals and ribbons and told Trevor he could teach him some moves….

He clamps his eyes shut when he feels them well up with tears and bites down on his bottom lip. He has to save face until he’s in the safety of his apartment. Then he can let himself go. 

He stands and comes face to chest with an extremely handsome and tall (extra tall in his skates) man holding two styrofoam cups in his hands and wearing a dark blue jacket with the word STAFF stitched across the front. 

“Excuse me,” the guy says and Bitty can’t believe it. He’s about to get kicked out for staying too long. He’s taking up space. He’s been here an hour and of course someone had noticed that he’s taking up two chairs and a table while there are real customers that would need them and if this guy starts to make a scene about it there’s no way Bitty’s going to be able to stop himself from crying.

“I’m going, okay? I get it. You don’t have to kick me out.”

The guys eyebrows furrow and it’s very cute but Bitty just cannot.

“Kick you out?”

“I know the tables are for paying customers and I’ve been sitting here for too long but-.”

“I’m not kicking you out,” the guys says then shoves one of the cups forward. Bitty doesn’t take it. “Why would I kick you out? My friend noticed you’d been sitting here for awhile and-.”

“Your friend?”

“Yeah.” The guy tips his head back and Bitty sees a man in a trapper hat with a full mustache leaning against the side of the rink. He waves and winks when he sees Bitty looking at him. “Well, actually.” The guy in front of him looks down at his skates and starts to turn a soft shade of red. “I noticed you’d been here awhile and I didn’t know if you were getting cold so I just…” He holds the cup further out towards Bitty. Steam wafts above the rim and there’s a marshmallow floating in the center. “You can stay as long as you like. There aren’t any rules about it. I mean, we close at ten but even then I can’t force you to leave the table and wait, why are you crying? Don’t do that. I didn’t mean for that to happen. You don’t have to take the hot chocolate. I told Shitty you wouldn’t be interested.”

“It’s not that,” Bitty says, hands flapping before he drops his skates and presses his fingers into his eyes. His tears soak into the fleece of his gloves. “I got stood up. I thought you were going to kick me out because I was alone and waiting too long and pathetic and then you come over here with hot chocolate and you’re being really nice to me and I tried to hold it in but I just can’t anymore.”

“Did you….did you bring your own skates?”

“Yes,” Bitty cries. “Pathetic.”

He feels hands on his shoulders and when Bitty blinks his eyes open he can see that the guy has put down the drinks and is holding him. It’s awkward, but it’s something. 

“You’re not pathetic.”

“I waited for an hour.”

“I watched you for an hour before I worked up the nerve to come talk to you.”

“Why would you want to come talk to me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Bitty lets himself be eased back into the chair and wraps his hand around one of the cups. It’s warm and soothing and exactly what he needed. “I can think of at least a dozen different reasons.”

“I thought you were cute,” the guys says quietly. He’s so red Bitty’s a bit concerned for his health. Not that he looks any better by comparison. He’s sure his own face is red and splotchy. “Isn’t that enough? I’m Jack.”

“Eric. My name’s Eric.”

“Eric,” Jack repeats and Bitty can’t help but start to smile. His given name sounded so regular when Trevor had said it. Common. But when Jack says it with his slight accent Bitty feels a spark all over. “Do you want to skate with me, Eric? You’ve got the skates already so we can skip the line.”

Bitty kicks him beneath the table and nods. “I’d love to, Jack.”


End file.
